Extreme Video    Production Awards Contact -   Jonathan Thursby


A world-wide marketing DVD produced in Norfolk to promote the Lotus Elise won the top UK corporate production award for 2004 from the national Institute of Videography.

EV Production's "Lotus: Change the Rules" combines sports car action footage, some of it acquired using the production company's trademark mini-cams, with archive footage and computer graphics, to convey the speed and excitement of the Lotus experience.

"The Lotus project was a real challenge, said EV Managing Director Mark Wells. "They had complicated messages to deliver to a range of different audiences across the world, both about the company and about the product. We had to shoot attractive, action footage of their latest cars and use it in a package which included archive material from every source under the sun - from 16 millimetre film to Umatic tape. We needed to evolve a style which allowed it all to go together with a coherent look and feel. With our motor-sport experience, journalism and broadcast production skills, we are one of the few companies in the country that could have taken it on."

The end product was a segmented DVD with a number of versioned and additional sequences, some with English language voice-over and graphics, and some without. Different versions were produced for use in the United States, Central America and Europe.

Alastair Florance, Group PR Manager for Group Lotus PLC, was delighted with the award - and the DVD. "It's fantastic to win the award," he said. "We wanted something really special to promote the latest Elise - the best Elise yet - and this production, describing the car and putting it in the context of Lotus' history, certainly did the job."

Mark, and his fellow director, Jonathan Thursby, received the award at a prestigious Gala Dinner held at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry, which was part of the Institute of Videography's two-day Annual Convention. The event prides itself on being the UK's leading showcase of video technology and expertise.